Cloudburst: House collapses in HP's Sirmaur, five of family feared trapped under debris
Nahan (PTI): Five members of a family are feared trapped under the debris of a house that collapsed after water from a cloudburst gushed into a village in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district, officials said on Thursday.
The cloudburst occurred in the Poanta Sahib area of the district on Wednesday night, they said and added that water entered several houses in Malagi Dadiyat village.
One of these houses collapsed. Five members of a family are feared trapped under its debris, the officials said.
The state emergency operation centre stated that heavy damages have been caused to properties in Malagi Dadiyat and the house of Kuldeep Singh, who works at the Public Works Department, has collapsed.
Those feared trapped are Singh, his wife Jeeto Devi, Rajni Devi, Nitesh and Deepika. Search and rescue operations are underway, the officials said.
Following the cloudburst, a section of the National Highway-707, connecting Poanta with Shallai, was blocked, making it difficult for officials from the administration and police to reach the Malagi Dadiyat.
The road's section between Rajban and Sataun was blocked and due to the cloudburst, the water level of the Giri river has also increased, the officials said.
The administration is trying to get personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to aid operations, they said.
So far, 231 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the state since the onset monsoon. Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 6,731 crore, according to the emergency centre. About 190 roads are still closed in the state.
The local meteorological office has issued a yellow warning of heavy rains on Thursday and Sunday. It has predicted a wet spell in the region till August 15.
It also cautioned of landslides, flash floods, mudslides and increase in water flow in rivers and nullahs.
#WATCH | Himachal Pradesh | Water flow of Giri River increases after a cloudburst in Sirmour (09/08) pic.twitter.com/1SjCG4J13B
— ANI (@ANI) August 9, 2023
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
